"'America is something that can be easily moved. Moved to the right direction.They won’t get in our way'"
Benjamin Netanyahu

Sunday, August 25, 2013

"Failure!"

"...These were Turkish goals as stated by Davutoglu, but they did not happen. Yes, Davutoglu has worked hard for these goals, but his efforts do not guarantee success. This is not due to the fact that Turkey is isolated, hence the counter argument cannot be that it is “better to be alone and honorable than part of a shameful system.” No, it is time we call it by its real name: failure. This is just failed policy. Unless we can call it failure, we cannot make adequate changes. Oddly enough, failure is more common in foreign policy than success.In Syria, Turkey should have learned that it cannot control the civil war, and that it must manage the repercussions of the war inside its territory and on its border. Davutoglu and the AKP took the “principled” stand to heart and mobilized its base to condemn the Assad regime. Several foreign policy issues have become passionate battlegrounds for domestic consumption. There was one point when many Turks labeled those who did not “condemned Bashar” as Baathists. This is mind-boggling when you consider the fact that the Baath party stands for Arab nationalist ideology. I am not sure how big of an impact an ordinary Turk sitting in Istanbul condemning the Assad regime is going to have on stopping the bloodshed. Either way, all Western powers and Israel have officially condemned the Syrian regime, yet the atrocities of war continue.Similarly, in Egypt, Turkey risks its investments, financial assistance and losing a crucial point of influence in the Arab world. It is understandable that the Turkish government does not want to be part of the Egyptian coup legitimization process. However, it is a step further to turn this into a major domestic issue for Turkey. Now, it has almost become a crime to not refer to the situation in Egypt as a “coup.”..."